COLLEGE BASKETBALL IS HERE: Check Out The Evolution Of Sports Illustrated's College Basketball Previews

The college basketball season got underway last night with a trio of games at Arizona, St. John's, and Mississippi State.

One of the grand traditions of college basketball is the annual Sports Illustrated "College Basketball Preview" issue. In the days before the internet and wall-to-wall coverage, this issue was often our first glimpse of the college basketball season and whether my Florida Gators would be any good that season.

And with this issue came many of Sports Illustrated's most iconic covers. On the next few pages, we will take a walk through more than 50 years of College Basketball Preview covers and take another glimpse at some of the best (and worst) the magazine had to offer...